2022 Priority Campaigns

This year, we are proud to work with members of our inaugural Confluence Program as well as members of our flagship multi-year grant program to secure permanent protection of these threatened natural spaces.

Boundary Waters – Minnesota

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in NE Minnesota is the most visited wilderness area in the US and is part of a 4.3-million-acre system of wild public lands that stretches to Canada. Multiple tribes depend on it for hunting and gathering and the region provides critical habitat for a number of species. Despite being a wilderness area, mining has been proposed in the region. Long-term permanent protection at the state and federal level is required.

Bristol Bay – Alaska

Bristol Bay, Alaska is home to the world’s largest wild sockeye salmon run and plays a central role in the cultural and spiritual identity of the Yup’ik, Dena’ina, and Alutiiq peoples who depend on salmon. Bristol Bay provides over 15,000 jobs and generates $2.2 billion annually from the commercial fishery but is threatened by a proposed mine. Permanent protection for Bristol Bay is needed to stop this mine.

Castner Range – Texas

The Castner Range is a mountainous 7,000 acres located between city neighborhoods and Franklin Mountains State Park in the majority Latinx community of El Paso, Texas. Designating this area a national monument would protect its historical and ecological value while providing improved access and outdoor opportunities for local communities.

Dolores River – Colorado

The Dolores River begins high in the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado and flows 230 miles until it joins the Colorado River in Utah’s red rock desert near Moab. We are supporting a bill to designate a 75,000-acre National Conservation Area that would protect more than 70 miles of the Dolores River and create a new roadless area.